8 Best Performing Arts in Boston, Massachusetts

One of the world's best acoustical concert halls—some say the best—has been home since 1900 to the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and the Boston Pops. Led by conductor Keith Lockhart, the Pops concerts take place in May and June and around the winter holidays. The hall is also used by visiting orchestras, chamber groups, soloists, and local ensembles. Rehearsals and daytime concerts for students are open to the public, with discounted tickets. If you can't attend a concert, you can still see the magnificent hall on a free guided tour. Visit the venue's website for dates and times.

The main stage for the internationally renowned Berklee College of Music, the "BPC" is best known for its jazz and pop programs, but also hosts folk, world, and rock acts, and pop stars like Talking Heads, Aimee Mann, Snarky Puppy, and Melody Gardot. Bargain alert: the BPC stages a wealth of excellent student and faculty shows and showcases sets and clinics by visiting artists that cost next to nothing. While the performance center is 1,215 seats strong, it's an intimate locale for any show.

The charismatic Benjamin Zander—whose signature preconcert chats help audiences better understand the blockbuster symphonies they're about to hear—heads up the Boston Philharmonic. Performances at Harvard's Sanders Theatre, the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, Symphony Hall, and a variety of other locales often encompass symphonies by Beethoven, Mahler, Shostakovich, and Brahms, plus lots of concertos.

Under the agile baton of Keith Lockhart, Boston Pops (largely Boston Symphony musicians) perform a bracing blend of American standards, movie themes, and contemporary vocal numbers (with top-tier guests) during May and June at Symphony Hall, plus 40 festive holiday-season concerts. Outdoor concerts on July 3 and 4 at the Hatch Memorial Shell are followed by concerts at the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home, Tanglewood, in Lenox, Massachusetts, in July and August. The free outdoor concerts are packed; be sure to arrive early with blankets, folding chairs, and a picnic.

Founded in 1881, the Boston Symphony is one of America's oldest and most venerable orchestras, with dynamic Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons at the helm. Its home season at Symphony Hall runs from September through April. In July and August the music migrates to Tanglewood, the orchestra's bucolic summer home in the Berkshire Mountains in Lenox, Massachusetts. Including tours to Carnegie Hall and China, and the Boston Pops concerts, the BSO performs more than 250 concerts annually.

Acclaimed for performances of baroque and classical music, the Handel & Haydn Society is one of the country's oldest performing arts organizations in America. The annual performances of Handel's Messiah have been a holiday favorite since 1854, and all concerts feature antique or replica instruments so the music is performed as it was the day it was written. Performances are held at Symphony Hall and other Boston venues.

One of the world's acoustic treasures, the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall is ideal for solo and string quartet recitals yet spacious enough for chamber and full orchestras. The pin-drop intimacy of this all-wood, 1,050-seat hall is in demand year-round for ensembles visiting and local. The New England Philharmonic and Boston Baroque perform here regularly. Dozens of free faculty and student concerts, jazz and classical, are a best-kept secret. The lobby box office is no longer open for purchasing tickets. All tickets must be purchased online.

Odyssey Opera, under the able leadership of founder and conductor Gil Rose, presents classic and modern operas at various venues throughout the city, including the Strand Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion at Boston Center for the Arts, Jordan Hall, B.U. Theatre, and Suffolk University's Modern Theatre.